thank you to steve. earlier this year, when head start was in danger of having children cut out of it, that they signed this great letter to congress urging congress to maintain the current levels. you are in sync with the nobel laureate. two years ago, i came to the organization. i am in classrooms where i see the power and the possibilities. i hear from alumni all the time. teachers, doctors, lawyers. prize-winning poets, public servants. she year's grammy winner, was there yesterday at the front of the magazine. instead of sharing all of their stories, i'm going to focus on three key points about reforming early childhood education. that is today's topic. first of all, research really matters. it matters because it shows over and over again ways that head start works. research matters to head start. let me say to use some of the things that those 300 researchers work -- wrote to congress. head start raised test scores. it makes it less likely that children will repeat a grade. for those of you who liv